


God is a Girl

by zorlia



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/M, Introspection?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-05-04 00:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14580798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorlia/pseuds/zorlia
Summary: Orihime's powers were once compared to playing God. She never considered them in this way. Not even at the end.Or : The Author thinks on the pure potential that Orihime's power has, and wished it was utilized better in canon.





	1. Chapter 1

_He was falling._

The air was heavy in this place. It crushed her very being, seeping through her skin and digging into her bones. Orihime could barely breathe, her chest constricting and feeling as though it was about to collapse. Ulquiorra had said the clothes they gave her were supposed to keep her body from vaporizing in the hostile environment of Hueco Mundo. In the levels below, it was more of a uncomfortable pressure, like an itch she couldn't scratch. Here, in Hueco's highest level, the spiritual pressure was so high it threatened to bypass the clothing's wards.

_Yellow eyes, once green, blank and unfeeling. All it took was one finger, and he fired the cero without any inflection upon his features._

Orihime was running faster than she thought possible. She was never a jealous or envious person, or she tried not to be. However, she currently wished more than anything she was powerful as Rukia. That she could run as fast as a shinigami, that she could be as strong as the other girl. Yoruichi taught Orihime the basics of her power, but she never thought to build upon it. She naively thought that it was all over, that what she had was fine. That got Tsubaki hurt. It made her a liability. She was weak. The weakest among them all and because of her everyone was in trouble. She caused this all to happen, all because she was too weak to fight Ulquiorra that day.

_She didn't need to speak for the shield to spring forth. Her spirits raced to catch the falling body, slowing the descent to the ground. The sand scratched at her knees and hands as she fell beside his body._

The glow of the healing dome was little comfort. Orihime chanted with a choked breath, tears pouring as nothing happened. She put all of her spirits into the sphere, leaving her without any defense or offense. Orihime was putting all of her power into the enchantment, words stumbling as she tried the reject the damage done. Kurosaki's body was pale, amber eyes dead. There was no recovery, her powers failing her in the most important time of need.

_There was a hole in his chest. Charred black and ashen. The hole was cauterized from the inside, leaving no blood. She could see through his chest like there was no heart, that he was as much a hollow as the others. Perhaps it was a symbol. A metaphor the Espada tried to translate to her. If so, it did not register. Gray eyes widened, shattering with tears as she stared in absolute horror._

“I- Reject!” Orihime sobbed, clutching at her temples. Her head was shaking, body trembling and lips quivering. Kurosaki wasn't healing. He should be healing. Her powers hadn't abandoned her like this before. Why now? Why was she so weak? Why?

_Ishida did his best to distract Ulquiorra. He shot a barrage of Quincy arrows at the Espada, flicking in and out of sight with his unique speed technique. It was of no use. Dark bat wings worked seemingly on their own to deflect all the attacks. A blink of the eye later and Ishida was knocked aside, smashing into one of the pillars. The stone was cracked, and she didn't need to be a doctor to know the likelihood of surviving such a hit. Beneath her, Kurosaki remained still._

Orihime felt as though she was slipping. That she was drowning in a pool of complete despair. It was grasping at her, pulling her down and cackling at her defeat and sorrow. Ishida was down, knocked aside like a bug. Kurosaki wasn't moving, chest and eyes still. Images of Sora flickered in her head, of his bloody form that tragic night. Of how still he was as well. How pale his skin was. The healing sphere cracked, shattering into pieces at Orihime's knees. Despite her mind's slow breaking, she called out again to reform the barrier. She refused to stop. She wouldn't accept this. Kurosaki was not Sora. Ishida would get up. Orihime clenched her eyes shut and chanted, hacking out the words even as her heart fluttered with hesitation.

“ _Why do you try? He is dead. There is nothing more.” Black furred and clawed feet entered her vision. Ulquiorra stood before her and Kurosaki, a rod of pure energy in his hand. He stared down at her with his cold gaze, arm raised to strike her down. She had outlived her usefulness. Her powers failed, marring her as a broken tool in the Espada's eyes. At that moment, Orihime found that she didn't disagree with the notion. What use was a healer who couldn't do her job?_

“No.” She shook her head desperately. She looked down imploringly at Kurosaki. “Please! Please no!” She ignored her captor, bringing her hands down on the barrier in her desperation. It shattered on the touch, causing her to fall onto Kurosaki's back. She sobbed, clutching at his body. Ulquiorra didn't understand. Kurosaki couldn't be dead. He couldn't. Orihime couldn't imagine a world without him. He was too strong to die. He can't be gone. She won't accept it. She won't.

_She was hiccuping, still chanting. Yellow eyes stared, blinking with an almost bored stance. He had enough of her. He jumped into the air and threw his cero lance, expecting nothing less than her dead body. The explosion rocked the ground, sending sand flying everywhere in a dust storm. When the smoke cleared, his eyes reflected with surprise._

She and Kurosaki were covered in her shield. All six spirits took to the defensive at the attack. Orihime was no longer paying attention, still lost in her swirling thoughts. Kurosaki wasn't moving, and Orihime refused to believe the worst. She chanted, heart pumped and head ringing with her conviction. She didn't accept this outcome. She wouldn't. This was a reality that she refused to accept.

_Power gathered, blinding in its purity and power. Sharp, and unfocused, clumsily gathered at the girl's body. Still growing, not inclosing on itself in a twisting surprise. Hueco Mundo trembled, the air particles vibrating with purpose. Ulquiorra squinted as the very air around him began to shimmer an orange tinge._

Orihime clung to Kurosaki's body. Lips pressed against his bare back, tears pooling onto his cold skin. She cried, for herself. For Ishida, Rukia, the other shinigami, for Tatsuki and her friends. For Kurosaki. She sobbed for Kurosaki. He held her heart in his hands, he always had. He was strong, back straight and unyielding in its determination to protect what was his. He was kind in his roughness, and he never looked down on Orihime for her weakness. Even when he should have. She couldn't accept this death. She wouldn't accept this death.

“ _Souten Kesshuin – **I REJECT!** ”_

Orange light flared, like an atom bomb, and reality vanished.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty dolls with pretty attachments.
> 
> Orihime wanted to be more than just a doll on someone's shelf.

“ _I will destroy the Hougyoku.”_

  
  


Resolutions were fickle things. Very, very fragile concepts that could break with the smallest of winds. Like glass. Or dreams. Orihime looked out of her prison at its backward moon. It never waxed or waned, remained in a constant crescent. A moon just as hollow as its inhabitants. She breathed deeply, forcing her chest to parse out the reishi thick air. She was no Bount, nor did she have near the amount of spiritual power as even Chad. Still, Hueco Mundo was so thick in its unnaturalness, that even she could feel the spirit particles in the air. Could taste them if she concentrated enough.

Orihime was not powerful. Not like Chad, Tatsuki, Ishida, or Ichigo. Not like Rukia. She was the weakest among them. Physically and mentally. She knew this. Deep inside her heart and all the way into her bones, Orihime knew she was a liability. She never wanted power or strength. She wasn't like Tatsuki, who liked to dominate and prove her worth. Orihime never felt the same bravery and strength like Ichigo. Rukia was better. Rukia was strong and could understand him better in so many ways. Ways that Orihime would never be privy to.

Jealousy was a dark beast. Orihime hated it. Rukia was her friend, and Orihime hated the betrayal of her heart and insecurities. So, she accepted it. Orihime took on her social place within the group with a smile made of glass. This was not defeat, however. Never. Orihime was not a lot of things. What she was, no doubt, was determined. Stubborn as an ox. Orihime might be the weakest, but she refused to be _weak_.

Hueco Mundo made her weak. Ulquiorra threw Orihime off her high horse and kept her on the metaphorical ground. Aizen was a monster in the closet, always watching. Threatening with a smarmy smile and a maniacal laughter in his gaze. He had looked so pleased when Orihime healed that Espada's arm. Pleased and unworried. He had dismissed her. Thought her of no real worth. Just enough to keep her out of the enemy hands, but not enough to pay attention to. A pretty doll with a pretty attachment, shelved away from grasping hands. Locked behind a barred case and left to rot.

Aizen needed to be stopped. He was going to hurt her friends. Her makeshift family made of the living and the dead. Possibly the whole world. Worlds. Universe. Who knew just what, exactly, Aizen was after. Orihime wouldn't pretend to guess. It didn't really matter. She was a curious mind, but she knew the dangers of looking into the abyss. That was what Aizen was. An abyss. A void of emotion and reason, masked as a man. He played as a leader, amassing his army and ten generals.

An illusion. The perfect lie gift wrapped in the truth. The pied piper, leading his followers into war and certain death. There would be casualties, for both sides. Fatalities that could be avoided. People who could be spared. The Shinigami would not hold back, nor should they. If left alone, Aizen might not win. But the Shinigami wouldn't either. A draw. A truce. A massacre on both sides.

Orihime wasn't strong. But she was strong enough. She was the closest to Aizen, and in turn to his beloved prize. He had said Orihime's powers were playing God. She didn't know if that was exactly true. But he was smarter than her, Perhaps he had an insight she didn't. Or perhaps she was giving him too much credit.

Still, there were things she _did_ know. Her powers were rooted in her soul. Orihime was only as powerful as her resolve. Her healing was so powerful because of this. She hated violence and seeing her friends, or anyone for the matter, hurt. Tsubaki got the short end of the deal. His fighting prowess halved from her shyness to fighting. Orihime didn't like causing pain. She was a gentle soul who would rather heal.

Orihime wasn't strong. But in this, she could do something. The Hougyoku was an abomination that radiated power. Aizen's prized jewel. If Orihime could reject wounds out of existence, could reverse damage in the blink of an eye, then possibly, she could do the same to the Hougyoku.

Her opening came with a punch and a kick. Being beaten wasn't exactly a new concept for her. She had never been hit like this before. Thrown to the ground and snarled at like a piece of trash. That was not how she was familiar about the beating. Yet, in all the previous days when she had been captured, she had imagined. Orihime's imagination was a strong one. She encouraged it, finding imagination as a lovely thing. Normally she was able to keep it upbeat and positive. Something that was hard to do as a captive. She had seen spy and war movies before. Inwardly, Orihime had always wondered when this kind of torture would begin.

Not that this was torture. No. It was petty jealousy and envy striving the two Fraccion girls. They were angry that Orihime was special. That Aizen had given her attention they thought unwanted. She was only human. Why should Orihime be special to their Lord and Savior?

Orihime had honestly been caught by surprise. Ichigo's presence had fallen, downed by the silky reiatsu of Ulquiorra. She hadn't even thought to use her powers, haven grown placid in her captivity and in her shock. Orihime didn't have much experience in facing enemies. In the Soul Society, she hadn't fought. Attempted to, and was brushed aside easily by an unranked Soul Reaper. Yammy had the need to only smack her to the side like an annoying fly. Ichigo and Rukia were the fighters. They went out and beat the bad guys, saving the day and worlds like superheroes. And now Ichigo had fallen.

Pretty doll with pretty attachments indeed. Maybe Aizen truly did have the right approach.

Just when she thought it the end, when she thought that these two girls were going to kill her, a hole was blasted into the wall beside the opened door. The blue haired Espada she had healed before stood in a slouched position. He took in the fight with a scowl, eyes half-lidded and lazy. A prowling cat facing its prey.

He swept the girls away without a care. Brutal in the attack, eyes still lazy and bored. He didn't care about them. He was there for Orihime. For her healing. That was all anyone wanted her for. Her pretty attachments.

When Ichigo bursted into this backward world, Orihime mourned and rejoiced. She had left for a reason, but she did not wish to stay. Orihime secretly wished for him to save her. Like the damsel, she thought she was. Before she knew her real purpose as a pretty doll. She, like everyone in this twisted castle, had felt their entrance. Ichigo couldn't hide his presence, and being stuffed into this high reishi world for so long made her more sensitive. Ichigo was here, with backup consisting of Rukia no doubt, and it would be so easy to give up her resolution. To let him take care of it. To give Ichigo the reigns and wait for a rescue like some damsel in a fairytale.

But she was no princess, and Ichigo had lost his fight. Pretty doll with pretty attachments. Dolls didn't have fairy tales. They were puppets, pretend pieces for others to designate roles for them. They, in the end, were not worth anything.

Orihime was tired of being a doll. This Espada held the key to her escape, and she was going to take it. She was going to leave, using Ichigo's distraction to find her way to the Hougyoku's container. She had to do this. Orihime couldn't give this up. She couldn't give this to Ichigo. Or to Rukia. Not yet. Not now. She had a use. She could do this. Orihime could end the war here and now. Orihime had that power. She was going to do it. She was going to end it all, and then go home. Or the Soul Society. Her life was optional. Living was a scale to Orihime, whose friends were mostly already dead and passed. Live with humans in Karakura, or in the Soul Society? Would she be able to join the reapers? Doubtful. Orihime wasn't that strong.

The male Espada knocked the girls down, and she did the first thing on her mind. Orihime healed. She healed these horrible girls who were betrayed. As their bruises vanished and their wounds closed, the man got closer. He was going to take her. Orihime closed her eyes and tapped into the swirling emotions stuck in her heart. The dark things she liked to ignore. Her hopelessness, her frustration with the previous and for her lack of power. Orihime touched upon her hidden aggressions and brought it forward with a sharp command.

“Tsubaki!” It wasn't even the right incantation. Just a warbled plea to her soul to listen. Tsubaki did not disappoint. Light blossomed on her pin and he shot forward, an orange-tinted blur that smacked into the Espada.

The man didn't try to dodge, likely to have written her off as weak before this even happened. He went to smack Tsubaki away, hand lightning fast. Tsubaki dodged, surprising everyone, and he flew up to land a kick in the chin and flew around to land a blow into the Espada's gut. The bluenette was sent flying through the very hole he had come through.

“That was better than nothing stupid woman,” Tsubaki grumbled, his little form hanging by her head with a disgruntled twitch to his wings. “I still hated it. Nowhere near my full potential. Weak emotions like that can only get you so far.” Orihime blinked back tears as she nodded. Tsubaki was right. Orihime was better than that. She didn't let her dark emotions rule her, so they wouldn't be useful to her powers. Tsubaki deserved better. Her healing dome, finished with its work, broke apart and Orihime was surrounded by her other fairies. The two girls from before scrambled back, shock written into their faces.

“Don't let him bully you so much, Hime.” Shuno smiled but did not refute Tsubaki's words. The other fairies looked on worriedly but waited. For her orders. Orihime breathed deeply and thought on Tsubaki's words. Her resolve is what gave her power. She was only as weak as she made herself as.

Orihime was tired of being weak.

“You _bitch_.” The Espada was back, jacket frayed and eyes lit with fury. She needed to act quick. He was faster than her, stronger. If he took her now, Orihime wouldn't be able to get to the Hougyoku. This would be all for nothing. She would still be a pretty doll with pretty attachments.

“Tsubaki!” _Kouten Zanshun_. She held up her hands and her three defensive fairies got into position with ease. The Espada flickered, appearing at her back with a snarl and a cero in his hands. Orihime's shield was to her front, but Tsubaki had stayed at her side when she called, power thrumming within him. When the Espada struck, so did Tsubaki.

He sliced through the very arm that she had healed, cutting off the cero before it could build into an explosion. He then zipped around at a blinding speed, faster than before, and bursted through the man's chest. The Espada jumped back, spitting curses. Tsubaki didn't follow, hovering at Orihime's side. It only took a moment, and she knew the exact moment when the Espada knew something was wrong.

“What the-” Light erupted from the wound Tsubaki had given him, grotesquely splitting the man from the inside out. Orihime refused to look away until the attack was finished. Blood was everywhere, coating the room. Her shield kept it off of her, leaving Orihime in her pristine whites. She almost wished that they too were ruined.

The two girls stared at Orihime with fear, a completely new expression to Orihime. No one looked to her like that. They ran, fearing that they would be next. Tsubaki yelled after them, cursing their ancestors. Orihime ignored them and stepped to the Espada's leftover body. He was dead. She brought a hand to her chest and breathed shakily. She didn't want to kill. But she didn't know how else to stop him. It wasn't right though. He had stopped those girls from hurting her. He said it was payback for the arm, but she was never good with favors. She always felt as though she needed to pay them back, even if it was for something she had done for them before.

And could she destroy the Hougyoku if she couldn't even do this?

Fire brimmed in her belly and Orihime kneeled into the bloody mess on the floor. She held out her hands, and her Soten Kisshun went to work immediately. Tsubaki complained, whining that he had just killed the guy. Why render that useless. Orihime disagreed. The fact that he was able to do this, proved her worth. Proved that she was capable of something.

But Orihime was a healer at heart, and she didn't think herself as a monster. She poured her will into fixing the Espada, thanking him for giving her a will to fight. He deserved this, just for that. Her dome brightened. Flesh, bones, and organs repaired themselves, muscles getting rebuilt and the Espada's body becoming recovered.

Orihime wanted to fix him, make him whole again because he gave her the power to break him down.

The Espada was different now. Bone mask gone and the hole at his naval missing. His sword was still at his hip, and Orihime could still feel it's power. He was different, but not wholly so. It would have to suffice. She was tired after such an ordeal, still wounded from her previous beating. There wouldn't be enough time. Orihime needed to get to the Hougyoku.

The chamber was where she remembered. Azien absent, and the orb still on display. A trap. Orihime didn't care. She hurried to the casing, resolve steeling as she got closer. This would be it. She would end this now.

“Well, I can't say I'm too surprised.” Aizen was in front of her. She skidded to a stop. He had appeared out of nowhere, standing by the case. He was smiling kindly at her. Like her brother used to. No. Not like Sora. He smiled at her like a child to their toy. Pretty dolls all around. Orihime straightened.

“This ends now.” Her voice, once so weak, did not shake. She was going to succeed. Aizen's eyes narrowed with a slight cant to his head. It surprised her. Aizen was taking her seriously. Pity, she complained mentally. Being the underdog had quirks, like being underestimated by the big boss. Aizen wasn't stupid though. He himself had equated her power to a God's. He knew what she was capable of before she even did.

“I see.” He didn't move, but the air got heavy. It suffocated her, mad her want to bend and fall to the ground. Orihime gritted her teeth, knees buckling. She couldn't give up now. This was not the end. She refused to be a puppet in this tragedy. She was not Ophelia. And she wasn't a pretty doll.

Steel eyes glared at Aizen as anger filled her. Ichigo had not risen since she left her cell. He was hurt, and she couldn't get to him. Rukia's presence disappeared completely on the way to this chamber. She could be dead, and Orihime was unable to help. Chad's reiatsu was gone, as was Ishida and Renji's. They could be hurt.

Tatsuki was in danger back home, for when Aizen decided to invade. The reapers she had grown fond of would be hurt. Urahara. Yoruichi. The kind Unohana who had complimented her healing skills. Isane who had taken Orihime to lunch in the wake of Aizen's betrayal. Apologizing and thanking Orihime in one turn. Matsumoto would be dead. The kind woman who helped Orihime with her jealousy towards Rukia. Helped her with her feelings to Ichigo. Or Toshiro, the small Captain that was easily annoyed, but was kind to Orihime. He would help her with the dishes, and other chores despite his complaining to Matsumoto and Orihime.

Her friends and family, living and dead alike, would be killed by this monster. By this man consumed with the need for power. Fueled by greed and envy, all for a small orb. A man who looked at the world and saw pretty dolls with pretty attachments.

“Tsubaki!” The fairy wasn't visible as he flew. Aizen moved regardless, flickering out of place to appear in another. The pressure in the room grew, forcing her to her knees. Aizen smiled, catching Tsubaki as the fairy flew around to land a blow.

“You have interesting powers, I can admit this.” He lectured kindly. Tsubaki struggled in the man's grip, yelling as it tightened. “That healing factor in particular. Powerful enough to think on, for when I become a God. You would have been an asset if only you knew how to use your powers.” He clenched his hands, breaking Tsubaki's body and dropping the fairy to the ground like trash. Orihime cried out, tears spilling over at the sight.

“You attacked the Hougyoku instead of me. Don't think I didn't notice.” He motioned a hand to the broken case and unharmed orb. “Your first mistake was using your offensive power at all. The Hougyoku cannot be destroyed so easily. If anything were to harm it, it would be your ability to reject reality. A power only applied to your healing factor.” Aizen walked to her slowly, uncaring and smug as he could be. Thinking he was the clear winner.

Orihime smiled grimly, heart bursting with grief for Tsubaki, Rukia, Chad, Ishida, Renji, and Ichigo. Especially Ichigo. She smiled, tears overflowing and blood leaking from her nose and ears as the pressure increased.

“Kouten Zanshun. I reject.” The words were garbled, muttered whispers. Orihime wasn't able to do much better. While not as impressive as a shout, like a power-up in a Shonen manga, it was just as effective. The air stilled, knocking back Aizen's spirit pressure as a pulse rang through the worlds. The Hougyoku shimmered and floated upwards as a small cut gleamed in the center. An orange light was spilling through. Aizen stared with a twist to his face.

“Tsubaki, can cut through anything. Even reality itself.” Orihime informed weakly, feeling less like a doll and more like a hero. Like Rukia. What would the girl say, seeing Orihime like this? Would she admire Orihime?

The Hougyoku split, and the world went white.

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, does Orihime have the power to break reality into her own image? .....I highly doubt it. Still, I stand by the fact that she has the potential at being one of the more powerful characters in the show. There was a reason why Aizen wanted to kidnap her. More than one reason, but I guarantee one of those was for her crazy power. She's like Scarlett Witch and Miranda Lotto combined. Okay, stretching it there, but still. Orihime will always be one of my favored characters.


End file.
